Board of Overseers of the Bar v. Warren

After a paralegal spotted a discrepancy, managing partner David Warren (defendant) discovered that partner John Duncan had embezzled client funds. Warren confronted Duncan, who agreed to repay the money and offered to resign, and Warren told the firm's six-member executive committee, which declined Duncan's resignation and never discussed or considered reporting him to the Board of Overseers of the Bar (plaintiff) or in-house counsel — deciding instead only to tell the director of Duncan's practice group, a disclosure Warren delayed roughly three months due to Duncan's fragile mental state. That later disclosure uncovered additional embezzled funds, and only then did the firm fire Duncan and notify the bar. The bar brought disciplinary charges against the six committee members for violating the rule requiring partners to ensure firm lawyers comply with ethics rules. A single justice found no violation, and the bar appealed.